What Oil/Weight?

mcrissjr

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Just got my motor buttoned up after a catastrophic bottom end failure last August. I was told that part of the reason it went could be because I was using too light of oil. What would you guys suggest for oil? Synthetic? Dino? Weight?
 
If you have a SOHC, it is recommended to use 20w40 in most circumstances. I have used 15w40 Shell Rotella T (diesel oil) for years. Works great. Others use 20w50 motorcycle oil.

I would use no lighter than 15w40 unless the temp is below freezing. Also, use only diesel or motorcycle oil specific oil as lighter and newer grades of auto oil can contain things that will make the wet clutch slip.

synthetic or dino- I don't care, but I use dino. The oil change interval is 2,000 miles and I usually change it more often, so the synthetic benefits don't help me much.

What were you using?
 
I just use regular valvoline motorcycle oil 20w50 in my 1978 sohc motor. I have had no problems. I also change mine at around 2,000 miles.
 
Mcrissjr, I'm no Petro-Chemical Engineer, but my father-in-law is. He is my source for the following info.

If you replaced all the gaskets and seals, and cleaned the internals well, then synthetic would be the way to go. Once it has been broken in, that is. And it takes a 20 mile ride to break in a modern motor. You just have to warm the engine up, then ride it and accelerate / engine brake reasonably hard for those 20 miles. Then change the oil and filter. A magnetic drain plug is a good investment as well.

I'm sure that some will argue cost and not having any issues with dino oil. That is nice, and good for them. Synthetic oil is better than dyno oil in every aspect, including cost if the drain intervals are extended. And they can be extended without issue. The base oil is virtually impossible to damage in an engine, so only the anti-corrosion and detergent additives will be depleted. And synthetic oils have more of these additives in them because the base oil doesn't require additives to make it meet the viscosity spec.

With synthetic oil, you should find that oil consumption is minimal to non-existent. It will also lubricate much better under all conditions. And it will also cool the internals much better than dino oil could. Doubling the normal change interval should be fine. So that would have you changing the oil and filter every 6000km (4000mi). If you do mostly long rides, you could probably go even longer, making the cost even lower.

If you decide to go with dino oil, change it and the filter every 3000km (2000mi). I'd also suggest Shell Rotella T 15W40 in that case.
 
I'd also suggest Shell Rotella T 15W40 in that case.

On my road to discovery, I had bought one of the yamalubes from a local motorcycle shop (hitching post) On it was a Oil grade, I found the thread, from last year)
http://www.xs400.com/forum/showpost.php?p=88281&postcount=22

Key thing was MA, is for Wet Clutch. Our bikes is a clutch immersed in oil. so make sure your grade your getting is has MA in the zone of compatible tiny codes. I remember walking into our auto store, took me a better part of 15 minutes to find one oil that is marked MA.
 
Rotella T is JASO MA certified.

The oil capacity varies. If it is a first fill after rebuilding, you will need about 3L. When changing the oil and filter, you will need about 2.5L. If just changing the oil, you will need about 2.2L.
 

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Somwaht confused After reading the thread about using Shell rotella oil are speaking of the deasle type heavy duty oil or something else?I was looking tonight at my local auto parts store and they have it onsale for $12.I wasnt sure if this was the right grade or not so what I should I look for on the bottle before purchasing?
 
Somwaht confused After reading the thread about using Shell rotella oil are speaking of the deasle type heavy duty oil or something else?I was looking tonight at my local auto parts store and they have it onsale for $12.I wasnt sure if this was the right grade or not so what I should I look for on the bottle before purchasing?
$12 ?? WOW! Would you buy me a case? I can try and smuggle it back this summer!
I understand your confusion - SHELL seems to go out of its way to confuse us. They have Rotella T Triple and they have Rotella T3 Pro. One has the JASO, MA codes and the other doesn't. I almost picked up the wrong jug once (it was on sale and the "Triple" was not). Make sure this is the label:
 

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The shits about it is Im broke till next monday,Hope its still onsale then.If it was for 120 mile round trip for an easter party I have cash,Got keep the mrs happy though.
 
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